SONS OF SIKKIM: VICTORS & VICTIMS

This book is not a comprehensive history of Sikkim; it is only a brief history of Sikkim’s Namgyal Dynasty, which ruled Sikkim for more than 300 years (1642-1975). Therefore, this book is not meant for research students/scholars on Sikkim history. There are other authoritative and comprehensive books on various eras of the history of the former Himalayan kingdom for serious students of Sikkim history.

My main purpose of writing this book is to give the ordinary people – in Sikkim and elsewhere – a glimpse of Sikkim history: its origin in the 13th century, advent of the Namgyal Dynasty in mid-17th century, invasion of neighbouring countries in the 18th and 19th centuries, and finally the emergence of the kingdom as a democracy in the 20th century, leading ultimately to its present status – the 22nd State of India.

There are very few books dealing on the above subjects in great detail and in one book. Most books on Sikkim’s history and politics are either one-sided or fail to present a wholistic view of Sikkim. A book such as this, perhaps for the first time, is written by a Sikkimese and from the Sikkimese perspective. History is not always written by the victors; at times, as in this case, it is written by its victims.

(Ref: Sons of Sikkim: The Rise and Fall of the Namgyal Dynasty of Sikkim, Jigme N. Kazi, Hill Media Publications, 2020.)